Personal electronic devices are commonly used for communication, entertainment purposes, as well as Internet access and a variety of other purposes. Examples of personal electronic devices include smartphones, tablet computers, gaming devices, audio players, video players, cameras, portable computers, two-way radios, GPS receivers, smart glasses, virtual reality glasses or helmets, masks or eyewear including an electronic display, and/or other portable devices. Protective cases for electronic devices provide protection for the electronic device from various forms of damage, including damage from dust, water, snow, dirt, and drops. Exemplary protective cases can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 8,342,325, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Common protective ratings are Ingress Protection, or IP ratings provided by the International Electrotechnical Commission.
Many electronic devices include one or more ports, including an audio port such as for a speaker or a microphone. In order to provide protection from water, an opening proximate to the audio port may be covered with a speaker acoustic material, such as a semi-permeable hydrophobic membrane, e.g. a GoreTex® membrane. Semi-permeable hydrophobic membranes prevent water from passing through the membrane up to certain pressure differences across the membrane. In some typical embodiments, the membrane prevents the passage of water through the membrane up to a differential pressure across the membrane of about 3 psi or greater. Some sound may be transmitted across the membrane, either from the environment to the electronic device in the case of a microphone port or from the electronic device to the environment in the case of a speaker port, either by passing through the membrane directly, or by the vibration of the membrane itself transmitting the sound. However, the quality or magnitude of the audio may be diminished by passing through the material. The quality may be improved through the use of a less dense speaker acoustic material that allows for more transmission of sound across the material. However, a less dense material provides less protection from liquid penetration. While a less dense material may provide splash resistance and limited water resistance, such material typically does not provide protection from immersion in water.
Improvements in the foregoing are desired.